Ruling topples law restricting medical marijuana

An Arizona Supreme Court decision Wednesday overturned a 2012 state law that made possession or use of medical marijuana on university and college campuses a crime.

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DALY CITY, CA - APRIL 18: A bowl of medicinal marijuana is displayed in a booth at The International Cannabis and Hemp Expo April 18, 2010 at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California. The two day Cannabis and Hemp Expo features speakers, retailers selling medical marijuana smoking paraphernalia and a special tent available for medical marijuana card holders to smoke their medicine. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Justin Sullivan

2010 Getty Images

PHOENIX - An Arizona Supreme Court decision Wednesday overturned a 2012 state law that made possession or use of medical marijuana on university and college campuses a crime.

The justices said the Legislature didn't have legal authority to enact the 2012 prohibition because it effectively changed Arizona's medical marijuana law in violation of state constitutional protections for voter-approved laws.

The medical marijuana law approved by voters in 2010 prohibited possession in certain places but the ban didn't include higher education campuses.

The decision vacates the marijuana possession conviction of a man whose Arizona State University dorm room was searched after police found him sitting on a street with a medical marijuana identification card in his pocket.

Police found marijuana in the man's dorm room.

The decision scheduled for release Wednesday follows one in which a lower court ruled that colleges and universities can prohibit medical marijuana on campuses but the state Legislature can't make it a crime.

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